I've had this blender for over a year now and it still works very well. The blade is very powerful and it is very easy to clean. You can just add a bit of water, blend and rinse out! I've made everything from smoothies to soups in this blender. The glass is quite heavy but durable, so it's ok. The Kitchenaid brand is reliable and it compliments other Kitchenaid items in my kitchen!

"Best Belender So Far"2009-09-21

By Hawkman (United States)

This had great ratings at Cooks Illustrated, which I happen to trust more than Consumer Reports when it comes to kitchen gadgets (it wasn't at the top of the list on CR). This is the best blender I've had. The jar itself is a tough plastic with the blade assembly attached to the bottom. You do no longer have to unscrew the bottom to clean the blades. In fact cleaning is simple... put hot water and a dab of soap and turn on the Stir mode for about 15 seconds. Rinse and you are done. It does a great job at smoothies with frozen fruit and ice. There are different settings to use for different purposes and they are explained in the small book that comes with it. These sell for $99 in stores and you can get a 20% off coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond if you wanted it locally. It comes with KitchenAid's 1 Year replacement warranty and they are really great to deal with. I've also owned a Blentec but it was very loud and very expensive. I think this is great for the price and it isn't too loud.

"kitchen aid ideas"2009-09-16

By Diane Murdock (brier wa)

the kitchen aid 'blender' works ok but the 'jar' isn't big enough and the lid/glass insert leaks. filling the jar about 1/4-1/3 full will allow use of the 'liquify' speed without overflow. the glass insert leaks and the design, plus the rubber lid facilitates the leaks. an option is to seal the insert to the lid but this is a permanent move. the jar needs to be 12-18 oz larger for proper use. speeds 4-5 cannot be used if jar is over 1/2 full.

overall, the blender is acceptable. there is a larger blender on the market but more expensive and subject to failure.

I knew the jar was smaller than desired but it was the largest I could find reasonably.

"Very Good Blender"2009-09-14

By Brooksy

I purchased this blender primarily for making smoothies. The ice crushing feature works very well. Smoothies come out with a great texture and there is very little effort involved with making them. I've also used it to make protein drinks. I was very pleased with the mixing power. It's a bit loud, which is why the rating is 4 stars. If you want price and performance this is a good purchase.

"Happiness is a new blender"2009-09-06

By Lowell Sather (Spokane,WA USA)

The blender is everything they promised it would be. Retiring our 25 year old blender (if you could call it that) was easy. Good price, good product.